Blood on Our Skin
by Boo2020
Summary: A collection of Halloween-inspired one shots for the month of October, using prompts from both Whumptober and Fictober. Rated M for descriptions of violence. Multiple characters/pairings to be added as I go.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** **A collection of Halloween-inspired one shots for the month of October, using prompts from both Whumptober and Fictober. Rated M for descriptions of violence/blood/gore/attempted creepiness. Multiple characters/possibly pairings to be added as I go.**

 **I just want you guys to know that these little one shots are all probably going to be really weird and some might not be explained well or whatever. I'm just trying to get through writer's block by writing these, and so far I've written and posted all of them like half an hour before I go to bed, so I'm also really tired while I write them, lmao. Hopefully some people enjoy them, though.**

 _ **Day 1 - Stabbed / "** **"Can you feel this?" / au where two people are connected and if one gets hurt or touched the other feels it**_

 _ **Word Count: 416**_

 _ **Characters: Phoenix, Maya**_

* * *

He's relaxing in bed when he feels a sharp pain between his ribs. He brushes it off as it fades after a few seconds and goes back to his book, but then he feels it again, this time in his stomach. It's far more intense this time, and impossible to ignore.

He throws the blankets back and starts to get out of bed, only for another sharp stabbing pain to wrack its way through him. He falls to the floor, gasping.

"Maya…"

He knows. He just knows. Maya is in danger. Since the day he met her they've had a sort of invisible connection. It's impossible to explain; only he and Maya are aware of it. She'd explained it once as having something to do with her spiritual powers and their closeness. He can feel her, as if her body is part of his. He can feel what she feels, even when they're apart.

And right now something is happening to her. Something bad.

That's when he hears it. " _Can you feel this, Mr. Wright?"_

It's like a whisper in his ear, as if someone is right there behind him, speaking to him. He turns his head, knowing no one will be there but needing to check anyway. That's never happened before. This connection with Maya, it's only ever been physical. He's never been able to hear things before.

There's another sharp pain this time in the back of his thigh, and he cries out in distress.

"Whatever you're doing to her… please stop," he whispers, his voice hoarse. He's not sure anyone can even hear him.

He manages to reach up to grab his cell phone from the nightstand. He cries out again as another stabbing feeling goes through the back of his calf, but he manages to dial her number in Kurain.

To his dismay, there's no answer. Not even a busy signal. Just an automated message, telling him the number he dialled can't be reached.

" _You're too late, Mr. Wright."_

There's a tearing feeling, like someone is trying to pry his skin from his bones. He's on his hands and knees but the pain is too much. He falls to the floor, writhing and crying and yelling for it to stop.

And then it does. Suddenly. There's no more pain. He lies on his back on the floor of his bedroom, staring at the ceiling, breathing heavily. There's no more pain, but there's also something else missing. Maya.

He can't feel her anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Day 2 - Bloody Hands / "People like you have no imagination."_**

 ** _Word Count: 349_**

 ** _Characters: Klavier, Kristoph_**

* * *

"Clean this up, Klavier."

The room seems impossibly bright. He doesn't know why, but in his mind he always pictured murder scenes as dark places, lit either by moonlight or simple dull yellow incandescent lights. But this room is lit by overhead fluorescent lights, which makes the puddle of dark crimson blood on the white tiled floor stand out even more.

Klavier looks up at his brother, and notices that the lights also cast a glare over his brother's glasses. He can't even see Kristoph's eyes, hidden behind that glare, but he can see the smirk on his brother's face as he watches Klavier kneel on the floor, an old towel in hand and a bucket of bleached water beside him.

He dips the towel into the bucket and obediently begins to wipe at the mess. The blood is so thick and coagulated that it seems to gush up and over the cloth. Klavier recoils as it reaches his hands, but he realizes soon enough that it will be impossible to clean this up without getting blood on his hands.

Kristoph chuckles above him. "Best get used to that feeling, brother."

"What did you do?" Klavier murmurs. "There's so much blood… What did you do?"

Kristoph simply shakes his head. "People like you have no imagination. What do you _think_ I did?"

Klavier swallows and looks back down to the mess. There's only blood that he can see, _a lot_ of it, but just blood. No other bits or pieces. "Where's the body?"

Kristoph simply shrugs. "I wouldn't look in the freezer if I were you."

Klavier takes a shuddering breath and leans down to continue cleaning. He tries to ignore the feeling of the clotted mess running between his fingers, and tells himself that someday he'll help put his brother away for good.

But today is not that day. Today he's still just the little brother, and he's still scared of Kristoph. Very scared. So for now he'll do as he's told, and hope that Kristoph keeps him around long enough for his hope to become a reality.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Day 3 - Insomnia / "How can I trust you?"_**

 ** _Word Count: 450_**

 ** _Characters: Phoenix, Maya_**

* * *

Maya almost always got out of bed in the middle of the night for a drink, but this was the first time she'd run into Phoenix on the way there. She was passing by the living room on her way to the kitchen when she noticed the shadowy figure sitting on the couch, in complete darkness.

She jumped, but once her eyes adjusted she could see the outline of that spiky hair, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Nick, you scared me."

He said nothing, in fact he didn't even turn towards her. Maya looked around. Why was he sitting on the couch in the middle of the night, in the pitch black, anyway? He didn't even have the TV on.

"What are you doing?" she asked, stepping into the room to walk towards him. "Kind of creepy, just sitting here in the dark, you know."

Finally, he turned to look at her, but his movement seemed off somehow. His whole body turned, not just his head, and when he looked at her his eyes were wide. But this was Nick. There was nothing to be scared of.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How can I trust you?" he murmured, so quietly she almost didn't hear him.

She sat down gingerly on the couch beside him, not too close. She felt wary, though she wished she didn't. He'd never scared her before, but there was just something weird about how he was acting. And why would he ask her something so ridiculous?

"What do you mean? I'm your best friend. Of course you can trust me."

He cocked his head at her, staying silent. Maya swallowed. "You're sort of freaking me out. Cut it out."

He blinked, and suddenly that strange wary feeling she'd had was gone. The look in his eyes had changed, and something in her just knew that her Nick was back. Whoever that was before, it wasn't him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn't sleep."

She relaxed. "Do you ever sleep walk, Nick? Or talk?"

"Not that I know of."

"Hm."

"Why?"

Maya shrugged. "Just wondering. Anyway, I was just grabbing a glass of water. I'm going to head back to bed now, okay?" Phoenix nodded at her, but made no move to get up himself. She looked down at him. "You should probably go too. At least try to get some sleep."

"Mm. I will."

"Alright. Goodnight."

With that she made her way back to her room, forgetting all about the glass of water she'd initially left to get. And for the first time since she'd started staying with him, Maya locked her bedroom door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Day 2 -_** ** _Poisoned / "Take what you need."_**

 ** _Word Count: 644_**

 ** _Characters: Phoenix, Dahlia_**

* * *

Dahlia grimaced as Phoenix sneezed yet again. He sniffled and wiped his nose, and was quiet again. At least for a few seconds, until a coughing fit began.

She sat rigidly by his side, waiting for it to subside.

"Feenie, your cold sounds like it's getting worse," she said once he had quieted again, smiling sweetly. She never let on how annoying she really thought he was. "I can make you some soup, if you want. I have some cold medicine that you should take, too."

Phoenix smiled gratefully at her. "That'd be amazing, Dollie."

She leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Stay here. I'll go make you some."

He nodded and turned back to the TV as she got up and headed into her kitchen. The apartment was small, and visible from the living room where Phoenix was sitting, but he was paying her no attention.

She got to work making the soup, nothing homemade of course, just simple canned chicken noodle heated up on the stove. She left it on the stove and made her way to the bathroom next. There was an old bottle of Coldkiller X in her medicine cabinet, as well as another vial filled with liquid she had to be extremely careful with. It had been risky, but she'd managed to procure more of the poison from the pharmacological department. She'd have to use more this time, she wanted Phoenix dead, not in a coma like that lawyer.

She brought the medicine out and set it on the kitchen counter with the other vial. Phoenix didn't even glance her way. She then grabbed a bowl and scooped some of the heated soup up. Setting it on the counter, she uncorked the other vial and poured the poison in, mixing it with the spoon.

She brought both the soup and the medicine to Phoenix, who accepted it gratefully. "Take what you need, Feenie," she said.

She sat back down next to him and watched him take the first sip of soup from the spoon. She sat back and began to pay attention to the TV again, trying not to let on how giddy she was at the idea of watching him die. She was so excited that the aftermath—how she would move his body or how she would explain it being in her apartment—didn't even cross her mind.

It happened rather fast. He only got through about half of the soup before he set it down and shook his head, telling her he felt weird, and then that he couldn't breath. She watched him struggle with a smile, then put her hand on his shoulder.

He turned towards her, a questioning look in his eyes. "Dollie?"

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his cheek, careful not to touch his lips with hers. "Oh Feenie," she said, close to his ear. "You should have given me this back a long time ago."

He gasped for breath as she gripped the bottle necklace that was around his neck and yanked. The chain broke, and the force of her pull made him fall from the couch, narrowly missing the coffee table on his way down. She stood up and watched him clutch at his chest with shaking hands, his breath becoming more and more shallow, until finally he stopped moving. She knew he wasn't dead, the poison would take a few more minutes to kill him, but she wouldn't stick around for that.

She had to call her sister. It was about time she and Iris switched again, and she knew how much Iris missed him. She would be so excited to finally see her Feenie again.

Dahlia smiled to herself as she left her apartment and locked the door behind her. Her only regret was that she wouldn't be around to see her sister's reaction.


	5. Chapter 5

**Prompts Used: Betrayed / "I've heard enough, this ends now."**

 **Word Count: 260**

 **Characters: Manfred von Karma, "Mrs. von Karma"**

* * *

When Manfred von Karma entered his home that day, he wasn't expecting to find his wife with another man. He'd never had any reasons to suspect her of cheating. Why would she, after all? She was the perfect wife to the perfect husband, and they had two perfect daughters. What more could she want?

The young man she was with immediately jumped out of bed— _Manfred's_ bed—and pulled his pants back on before running from the room. Manfred didn't stop him. After all, his wife was the one who'd invited this man into their home, their bed. The home that he'd provided her with all these years. It was his wife he had to deal with.

She looked scared, pulling the blankets up to cover her chest, her silvery hair loose and messy around her face. "Please, Manfred, let me explain."

"How ungrateful," he murmured. "All I've given you, and this is how you repay me?"

She winced as if his words had hurt her. "I'm so sorry… You're never home—"

"I've heard enough. This ends now."

She watched with wide eyes as he lifted his arm to grab the heavy decorative vase sitting on their dresser.

"No, please, Manfred…"

She was no longer perfect, and looking at her made him feel disgusted. He felt nothing as he swung the vase down at her, and didn't feel an ounce of remorse when she fell back onto the bed, motionless.

He'd had to erase her from his life and his daughters' lives, for their sakes. There was no other choice.


	6. Chapter 6

**Prompts Used: "Stay."**

 **Word Count: 579**

 **Pairing: Phoenix/Maya**

* * *

 _"Why are you still here?" he asks. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, weird as it is, but don't you want to cross over?"_

 _She smiles, her translucent form shimmering in the moonlight. "I have unfinished business. The problem is, I'm not sure what it is."_

Phoenix can remember that conversation clearly as Maya leans against him, swaying in his arms to the soft music playing from the old record player. He can feel her breath against his chest through his shirt, and the skin of her arms is warm as they wrap around his neck.

He pulls her just a little bit closer, and hears her sigh. "I wish we could stay like this forever," she murmurs.

"Me too," he says, and the words hurt because he knows they can't. He knows this is temporary, a gift to Maya from whatever higher being there happens to be out there.

"You know, Nick," she says, pulling away to glance up at him. Her eyes are deep brown, like dark chocolate, so different from the light grey he's so used to. "I think I know what my unfinished business was."

"What's that?"

"Falling in love with someone. You. I never got the chance when I was alive… But I'm glad I met you… I love you."

He swallows back the lump in his throat. "I love you too, Maya."

She sniffs, and a tear streaks down her cheek. "I haven't cried since the day I died. It feels strange."

"Then don't," he says, reaching forward to brush the tear away. "Just try to enjoy the moment. It's the only one we'll have." He glances up at the old grandfather clock against the wall. "And only a few more minutes to enjoy it."

"Already?" she says.

"Mm. It's almost midnight."

"Kiss me," she says. "Just once, before it's over."

He leans down to do just that, their lips meeting softly, and he marvels yet again at how he can actually _feel_ her now, her warmth and the smoothness of her lips against his. He doesn't phase through her like he's used to doing when he's tried touching her before, when he's forgotten that she has no physical form.

When they pull apart and he opens his eyes, Maya's skin is starting to shimmer again. He reaches up to touch her cheek, and she closes her eyes as his fingers brush against her. He can feel her temperature dropping, the cool, almost misty feeling of her skin changing back to the translucent glow of her spirit form.

"I guess it's time for me to go," Maya says, her voice now ethereal. "I can cross over now… It's kind of funny, this is all I've wanted for years, and now that it's time, I don't want to go."

"I don't want you to go either," he says.

"But we both know I can't stay," she says, beginning to rise away from him. "Thank you, Nick. Try not to miss me too much. I love you."

It's all too fast. He needs more time with her, needs her to stay even if it's only in her ghostly spirit form. But as he watches her rise her body begins to fade away right before his eyes, he knows she can't. She's not meant to be in this world.

"Goodbye, Maya," he murmurs, watching the last of her disappear. Her smile is the last thing to disappear.

The house already feels emptier without her presence.


End file.
